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Pete Schwaba & Lance Barber - "The Godfather of Green Bay"

Pete Schwaba & Lance Barber - "The Godfather of Green Bay"

Premiere date: May 04, 2012

Joe Keegan (Pete Schwaba) is the 'Rocky' of stand-up comedy. A fifteen year comedy veteran who was pegged for stardom early on in his career but has blown every major audition he has ever had in legendary fashion. Fresh off a recent fiasco with a heckler that included a broken nose, Joe's friend Kenny (Lance Barber) tells him he can get them an audition for 'The Tonight Show' and that it's 'a can't miss.' The one catch is that it's at a roadside bar in tiny Pine Lake , Wisconsin , hometown of Tonight Show Talent scout, Harvey Skorik who never misses 'Rocktoberfest'. Having doubts but needing a break from L.A., Joe reluctantly agrees to go.

Arriving in Wisconsin, Joe bombs his first night on stage when local emcee 'Dug'(Thomas Lennon) sabotages him. Joe cannot get a break until he encounter's his former high school English teacher, the beautiful Molly Mahoney (Lauren Holly) who is also at a crossroads in her life, coming off a failed marriage. Molly is excited for Joe's 'Tonight Show' opportunity. Joe tells her he just wants to prove to himself that he hasn't been wasting the last fifteen years of his life. Molly makes him realize just the opposite - that he has been living his dream.

Things finally start looking up for Joe Keegan until he finds that the biggest audition of his life will be in front of his toughest crowd yet; Packer fans, Deer Hunters and The Godfather of Green Bay, Big Jake Norquist (Tony Goldwyn), a former high school football star turned drug dealer who is also in love with Molly.

Filled with great characters, big laughs and surprising twists, The Godfather of Green Bay will not only make you laugh, it will leave you with such a warm feeling you’ll want to move to Pine Lake, Wisconsin!

Biographies

Pete Schwaba|Director, Writer, Producer, Lead Actor

Pete Schwaba was born and raised in Chicago. While in junior high, his family moved to Wisconsin where he was first introduced to small town life. Upon graduating high school Schwaba went back to Chicago to attend DePaul University where he was a member of the sketch group, Improv DePaul. While performing sketch comedy, he also started doing stand-up comedy and during his junior year at DePaul he won the “College Comedy Hot Shots of Chicago Competition.”

He went on to perform stand-up for nine years across the country. He appeared often on HBO, Comedy Central, Evening at the Improv and Caroline’s Comedy Hour and has appeared at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He has opened for Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. Upon moving to Los Angeles he was cast in three TV pilots and wrote for the WB and Comedy Central.

In 1999 he sold a screenplay he co-wrote with partner Greg Glienna to MGM. A Guy Thing (Jason Lee, Julia Stiles) was released in theaters in January 2003. In addition to “A Guy Thing” he co-wrote Dreamgirl which is currently in development at Warner Brothers.

Pete’s most recent film is The Godfather of Green Bay (Lauren Holly, Tony Goldwyn, Thomas Lennon and Lance Barber). Schwaba not only wrote the film, he also directed and plays the lead role. In addition to wearing many hats during filming, he raised the film’s entire budget himself.

Schwaba is currently trying to get more film projects off the ground. He and his family reside in Los Angeles and still spend much of the year in Wisconsin .

Lance Barber|Actor

Lance Barber was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan - Cereal City, U.S.A. He caught the acting bug after his high school performance as Jethro in a stage version of The Beverly Hillbillies. He soon went on to The Barn Theatre - a summer stock company where he was blessed to work with Tom Wopat.

Chicago was the next stop on the Barber Express. There he studied improvisation at the Second City and Improv Olympic and was hired as a member of the Second City National Touring Company. He made several appearances at the Chicago Comedy Festival and is a founding member of the world-renowned improv troupe The G.O.C.

His television credits include MTV's "Faking the Video" and the WB's "On the Spot" and guest appearances on "ER," "Gilmore Girls," "Yes, Dear," "Come to Papa," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment," and "What I Like About You." On the big screen, Lance has leading roles in the independent features "Bad Meat" and "The Godfather of Greenbay" and the critically acclaimed short "The Confetti Bros." Lance wants the world to know he loves his mother very much.